What is 'Carat Weight'?

Diamond carat weight is the measurment of how much a diamond weighs. A metric "Carat" is defines as 200 milligrams.

Carat Abbreviations

• The abbreviation ct is a shortened way to write carat, and refers to the weight of a single diamond.
• The abbreviation ct TW means carat total weight, and is used to express the total weight of multiple diamonds used in a piece of jewelry.

Carat Weight vs. Size

Carat weight is used as a measure for other gemstones, but different gems of the same weight aren't necessarily the same size, because some gemstones are more dense than others--meaning that they pack more weight into a smaller space.

Weight of Small Diamonds

The weight of smaller diamonds is often expressed as points , not carats. There are 100 points in a carat. Another way to look at it is to say that each point equals 0.01, or one-hundredth, of a carat. For example, 0.05 means five one-hundredths, so a 0.05 carat diamond equals five points. or 0.25 means twenty-five one-hundredths, so a 0.25 carat diamond equals twenty-five points--or one quarter of a carat.

Carat Weight How it Affects Value

Larger diamonds are rarer and in more demand than smaller diamonds of the same quality, so they can be sold for a higher price. A one carat diamond solitaire ring is nearly always more expensive than a diamond ring made up of multiple diamonds that are similar, but smaller, even though they total one carat or more.